Delhi excise policy case: Court rejects BRS leader K Kavitha's bail plea

A Delhi court dismissed BRS Leader K Kavitha's bail applications in cases registered by the CBI, and ED linked to alleged corruption & money laundering in the Delhi liquor policy case

A Delhi court on Monday rejected the bail plea filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in connection with corruption and money laundering cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the alleged excise policy scam.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja dismissed the applications, citing that the timing was not appropriate to grant the relief sought by Kavitha.

Currently in judicial custody in both cases pursued by the ED and the CBI, Kavitha had filed an application seeking physical appearance before the court upon the completion of her judicial custody on May 7. Responding to this, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja directed the investigative agencies to submit their responses by May 6, when arguments on Kavitha's application were scheduled to be heard.

Advocate Nitesh Rana, representing Kavitha, conveyed her desire to appear physically before the court instead of through video conference from Tihar Central Jail, where she is presently detained.

Describing Kavitha as a victim of alleged persecution and harassment, the application asserted her intention to refute the accusations levelled against her during the proceedings.

Previously, on April 23, the court had instructed jail authorities to virtually produce Kavitha upon the expiry of her judicial custody.

Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was apprehended by the ED from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15 and has since been in judicial custody. She was then arrested by the CBI on April 11 from Tihar Jail, where she was detained in connection with the money laundering case pursued by the ED. Her judicial custody in both cases is scheduled to conclude on May 7.

Earlier, Kavitha had sought an interim bail plea on April 8 on grounds of her 16-year-old son's upcoming exams, which was also denied. The ED had responded to the plea by stating that concessions provided for women under law were not applicable to women politicians.